


A Search For Violet

by telefrosted (toyhouses)



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Fae & Fairies, Fairies, Fairy Kim Minseok | Xiumin, Gen, M/M, Owl Do Kyungsoo | D.O., Raccoon Kim Jongdae | Chen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 08:43:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21250601
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toyhouses/pseuds/telefrosted
Summary: Jongin is solicited by fairy Kim Minseok to help in a mission to find the fairy's wings.  Joined by a giant talking raccoon and a rather busy owl, Jongin finds out there's more to the mission than just a sprinkle of pixie dust.Written for Prompt T50.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you mods! This round was so awesome! I wish I could have done better and can't wait to participate again!
> 
> Shout out to the BB GC gang for all the encouragement and support, especially B, N, and A!  
Couldn't have finished this AT ALL without your guys' kind words of encouragement as well as the please-get-the-f-on-with-it's. :D  
Satisfied or not, it is DONE! and I give credit to all of y'all for that :D  
And finally....
> 
> Dear prompter,  
Thank you for this prompt I loved it so much. I'm afraid I wasn't able to do it justice and I'm so sorry for that! I tried. I loved the prompt so much that I built this whole world around it. Unfortunately, the world got too big and I had to cut out bits and pieces to make deadline and not bore everyone to death, but I still hope someone enjoys this!

The touch of a purple petal.

That's all it takes for Jongin to slip through the threads of time and reality. And that's all Jongin really remembers of the moments before waking up in the middle of a dark and unfamiliar forest.

Walking along a nonexistent pathway, Jongin eyes the sinister looking trees surrounding him. Though the forest is a little spooky, the emerald hues and strange looking plants are undeniably gorgeous in an otherworldly sort of way. Amazingly, the ground feels soft, like sand and his shoes barely make a sound as he moves through the foliage. All around him, there's the faint cry of insects Jongin can't quite name but they're black glittering things that show themselves once in a while. Despite the dream-like landscape, Jongin racks his brain for a clue as to where he is and how he's ended up here. 

"Hello?" Jongin cries out.

The sound of his voice seems too loud in the relatively quiet wilderness surrounding him and his voice echoes as if in a tunnel. Suddenly, the ground glows with an eerie green fluorescence. It gets brighter and brighter until it seems like Jongin's the only thing in the spotlight and the living things around him have gone suspiciously quiet. 

"It's a human" a distorted voice whispers.

Jongin barely catches it. It's a tiny voice that doesn't seem to belong to something human. Too high pitched to be that of an adult's, but it definitely does not have the intonation of a child.

"Hello?" Jongin cries out again. "Is someone out there?"

"What's he doing here?"

"He doesn't belong."

"Chase him out! Chase him out!"

"Kill him!"

The same sort of whispering voices overlap one another, rising in a crescendo until there's a pregnant silence. Then, a flash of bright green catches the light in the corner of Jongin's eye. He doesn't know to dodge and suddenly, there's a searing pain on his cheek. Jongin recoils.

"Ow!"

His hand flies up to his face and he feels the ache again. It's like a paper cut, except-.

There's a fine, bloody gash across his cheekbone. He looks down at the thick red fluid smeared on his finger in shock. He raises his head warily at another voice.

"You missed!" it hisses.

There's another glint of light and on reflex, Jongin's hands go up to cover his face. But this time, before he feels anything, a shadow hides him from view. Jongin looks up with widened eyes. The man shielding him isn't tall, but he's sturdy as he bats the enchanted blades away with a single long stick. 

"Get back!" the man commands.

Jongin ducks, crouching down with his arms over his head and his eyes shut tight. There's an angry cry in the distance as well as the fluttering of feathers.

"Minseok! Don't meddle!" The voices hiss simultaneously. 

"Siding with the humans again!"

"For shame!"

The voice closest to him - the voice that belongs to the man shielding him - rings loud and clear in Jongin's ears.

"He's my friend."

Jongin opens his eyes, a little surprised at the sentiment since he's never seen this person before. _Or has he?_

His hazy memory gets a little bit clearer. Things are still cloudy, yet-

There’s the touch on a violet petal and a single bud opening up at the brush of his fingertips.

A tiny creature had tumbled out of the unfurling flower and Jongin had fallen back in recoil. But the creature was a man - an impossibly tiny man about the size of Jongin's thumb. A tiny shock of violet hair on his head and a long stick roped to his back.

Jongin comes back to the present as another flying weapon whooshes next to his arm.

But here was the tiny creature now. No longer tiny, the creature was a man - life size and corporeal - and definitely not a figment of Jongin's imagination.

"Minseok" Jongin whispers, remembering. That had been the man's name.

"This isn't the first time" the voices hiss in surround sound. "But it will be the last!"

And this time, a barrage much more dense than the first overcomes them. It fills the night sky with weaponized leaves and Minseok quickly swivels, crouching down at the same time. He covers Jongin's body with his own, draping a long black cloak over the both of them.

Minseok's face is mere millimeters away from Jongin's. And though this isn't the time nor place, Jongin finds himself staring. A pale face with sparkling eyes and dense eyelashes. A strong bone structure and a pixie-like nose. Lips that curl like a kitten, pink and moist. 

"B-Blood!" Jongin blurts out, discovering the small wound on the corner of Minseok's mouth.

"Are you hurt?" Minseok asks, worried. He's wincing and, at first, Jongin mistakes it for a response to pain.

"No, I-"

"Good" Minseok says firmly. "If you're not hurt, then it's fine."

The blades hitting the somehow leaf-proof coat subside, falling lifelessly on the ground below them.

"We have to move before the next wave" Minseok continues. With the hand holding Jongin's shoulder, Minseok squeezes before speaking. "Are you ready?"

Jongin's too confused to answer, but Minseok's hand is gripping his wrist and soon, they're running through the forest at break-neck speed. Jongin isn't bad at running, but he knows he's never been this fast. When he ventures a look at Minseok's face, he sees it pinched in concentration. Around him, the air glistens.

_ Ah, this must be- _

They stop at a clearing. Jongin folds in half, hands gripping his knees. But soon, Jongin realizes that he's not as out of breath as he thinks.

"Who are you?" Jongin blurts out after watching Minseok stare into the distance to make sure they aren't followed. "I mean, I think I remember that your name is Minseok. But who are you really? How do I know you?"

Minseok turns slowly to face Jongin. There's an expression on his face that Jongin finds hard to read. But in his twenty-two years of life, Jongin can't recall a time where he's felt like this. Minseok's face makes him feel unbelievably guilty and unbelievably sad at the same time. His heart physically hurts, squeezing painfully inside of his rib cage, and Jongin covers his chest with a heavy hand. He has to bite his lips to stop himself from apologizing. 

_For what?_ he thinks to himself.

"It's alright" Minseok murmurs, hanging his head and looking everything but 'alright'. "You came back" he says in a small voice, "and that's all that matters."

  


❀❀❀

FIVE YEARS AGO -- 

There are times when the end of the day and the cusp of evening blend together, that Jongin feels a sense of melancholy. Jongin stifles a groan when he sees the fork in the snow laden road ahead of him. He doesn’t want to be alone just yet. 

After school, one by one, he had parted ways with his group of friends until Oh Sehun was the only one left accompanying him. Sehun ruffles Jongin’s hair before turning into the neighborhood along Second Street.

“See you tomorrow” the boy says fondly, grinning and waving until Jongin waves back, until there’s only a puff of white breath where Sehun used to be.

Turning away once he can’t see Sehun’s outline any longer, Jongin makes his way on the last stretch toward his family's rundown three story home. His footsteps slow as he nears his neighborhood, reluctant to return home. Jongin knows what lies in wait for him - his mother's face etched in worry, his sister's brow wrinkled with weariness. He doesn't want to see the piles of letters in angry red lettering nor the deepened lines of weariness on his father's face.

As Jongin nears his house, he sees their family dog Jjang running toward him, making little imprints of paws in the freshly fallen snow. A caramel-colored, fluffy thing with bright black button eyes who Jongin loves despite his cheekiness. Stopping short, Jongin tilts his head at the sight of Jjang; there's something off about Jjang today. Normally trotting over with his tongue hanging to welcome Jongin home, today, Jjang seems a little hysterical. 

Jjang's eyes are wide and he's running at full speed as if someone's chasing him. Concerned, Jongin bends down to kneel, arms open for Jjang to jump into, but once Jjang comes closer, he doesn't go for Jongin's open arms. Instead, he's running past Jongin, then in circles, slowing only to shake his head and toss and buck like a bull trying to throw a cowboy strapped to its back.

It's then that Jongin hears the small voice. When he squints, Jongin sees what appears to be a tiny human-like creature swinging a piece of a still green branch. In the creature's hands are fistfuls of Jjang's curly fur.

"I will tame you at last!" the small voice shouts, causing chills to go up Jongin’s arms despite being bundled in three layers of clothing.

Jongin rubs his eyes furiously. That couldn’t be right though. There were no such thing as humans tiny enough to ride on the backs of medium sized pets. Though...

He had been feeling tired lately. Today he had skipped his ballet lessons from feeling feverish and maybe he was coming down with something. Or maybe the stress of his family's situation had gotten the best of him.

"Bow down, you obstinate thing!" the creature continues to wail.

Jjang yips, tossing his head indignantly.

"Indeed, you have met your match!" the tiny voice hollers.

The small creature rides the family dog like a stallion, brandishing the thin tree branch like a switch. It takes Jongin all of fifteen minutes to catch Jjang in an effort to calm the canine down and take a closer look at the tiny creature. However, at the last moment, Jongin falls over, losing his balance at a sharp turn, with Jjang in his arms. 

Once Jjang is in Jongin's possession, Jongin frantically searches Jjang's back only to find that the creature has disappeared. The only thing that comes up in Jongin's hand is a pliable piece of bramble tangled in Jjang’s fur.  


The streets are still clogged with soggy debris after yesterday's short-lived warm spell, so Jongin and Jjang both bear the brunt of the elements after their tussle. Despite the disappearance of the logically impossible creature, something still feels off. Jongin doesn't quite know if it was a figment of his imagination, but he attributes it to the combined stench of frozen mud and wet dog.

Making it back to the house, Jongin chooses to enter through the back door, careful to avoid the carpeted living room.

"I'm home" Jongin calls out of habit, toeing off his shoes on the linoleum kitchen floor.

Quietly, he discards his heavy parka. With Jjang firmly under his arm, Jongin makes for the bathroom to wash both of them off. A voice comes from a different part of the house. It's his sister, Jungah, who is watering the plants lining the veranda.

"Dinner will be ready in an hour" she calls out. "And Mom says not to forget to water the plant in your room! They need extra care in the winter!"

"Alright!" Jongin shouts, already at the top of the stairs, thinking of nothing but avoiding being caught with a sopping wet dog in the house.

Going straight to the hallway bathroom's cracked old tub, Jongin runs tepid water for Jjang. The dog is abuzz with excitement, licking Jongin's face and nipping at the flowing faucet water excitedly. The clean water turns muddy brown in a matter of seconds and before Jongin can take his pants off, Jjang splashes him by shaking his whole body.

"Argh!" Jongin screeches.

"Jongin-ah? Everything alright?" his sister's voice floats up from downstairs.

"Y-Yes, everything's fine. Just taking a bath!"

"Alright. Don't forget! Dinner! In an hour!"

"OK!" Jongin yells back.

Muttering under his breath at Jjang, Jongin does his best to scrub the dog clean. He squeezes a generous dollop of his sister's shampoo only belatedly realizing that it might be some special brand. It smells nice though and Jongin also uses it for his own hair after he's done bathing Jjang. He opts for a shower after draining the murky bath water.

Toweling his hair dry, he lets Jjang stay in his room for a while after the bath. Belatedly, he remembers the house plant his sister had mentioned. Jongin goes up to the window sill, eyeing the small gardening pot his mother had placed in his room only a week before. When he gets closer, he sees a tiny circle of white capped fungus around the green leaves of the plant. The African Violet still hasn't bloomed. 

Jongin curses under his breath, wondering if this means the plant is dying. A vision of his disappointed mother’s face flashes before his eyes. But on closer inspection, Jongin sees a little purple bud coming out from the center of fleshy green leaves. He gently pokes at it and then does the same to the soil inside the mushroom circle.

He lets out a breath of relief. The plant was flowering and the soil was still moist. Surely that meant that it wasn't dying, but flourishing?

Jongin turns on the hair dryer, setting it on low and cool for Jjang to dry. After letting the dog out of the room, Jongin wanders back to the African Violet. Now that Jongin’s alone in his room and he’s able to spray a little water on the bud carefully. He's heard of water rot and he doesn't want the little flower to die before it has a chance to even unfurl its petals. He stares at the plant for a little while longer. He’s heard of plants flourishing when spoken to, so despite the silliness of it all, Jongin bends his head to whisper in a low voice.

  


Jongin organizes his things out of his book bag before following Jjang down. They eat their meal on a fold out table over a heating pad with the television on. Their parents still aren't home yet and the nervousness that his sister exudes as she keeps looking at the wall clock, makes Jongin nervous in turn. He shakes his left leg under the table, concentrating on finishing his food quickly rather than enjoying it.

Once he's done, he dunks the dishes in the sink water and dashes upstairs, shouting, "Thanks for dinner Nuna!" behind him and only feeling a little guilty for not helping with the dishes.

For once, something else besides his family situation is giving Jongin a headache and his heart is torn in two. He doesn’t want to burden his sister with the matter, but on the other hand, he feels like he can’t handle sharing his sister’s burden - at least not tonight.

He whispers a quick apology to Jungah under his breath before shutting himself up in his room for the rest of the night.

After dinner, the sky is already dusky. Jongin sits down at his desk with a sigh, finishing his homework by the light of a little desk lamp. He's exhausted and, lately, he’s been feeling like this every night. 

This morning his teacher had asked him what he wanted to do after high school. Did he want to pursue ballet? Or go to an arts college in the city? Both options meant leaving his hometown and Jongin hadn’t been able to bring up option three in front of his teacher.

His thoughts go to his hard working sister, who was both in college and working to earn her own tuition and spending money. If Jongin left for the city, would Jungah be okay on her own?

Next, his thoughts turn to his father, who was in a different country, not even able to come home for the approaching holidays. And lastly, his thoughts settle on his diligent mother who had gone back to work as soon as his father had been laid off. His mother was the one who, despite it all, always encouraged Jongin to do what he loved.

Jongin looks down at the guidance form in front of him. In the end, Jongin hadn’t been able to answer his teacher that morning. The look of pity on the teacher's face was enough to send Jongin into a ornery mood. To top it all off, on the way home, his classmates had excitedly discussed their class trip to the ocean. Jongin didn't have the heart to tell them that he might not go. The fee for the class trip was already past due and Jongin hadn't been able to ask his sister for it, much less his parents.

Jongin sighs into his hands, looking out into the night sky through his small window. This time last year, his father had lost his office job of over twenty years, drastically cutting the household income down. Despite the fact that Jongin was still a high school student, he still feels like the dead weight in the family. It is no easy feat to keep the family going on three low wage jobs, much less to pay for ballet lessons.

_ ‘If only I could help.’’ _

His gaze turns to the violet plant. According to his mother, an adorable regular customer had given it to her at the restaurant where she worked part time as a server. His mother was always doing that, receiving other people's love and kindness. He smiles at the recollection of his mother, wondering how she was faring on this cold winter night. 

Jongin peers at the flower bud he'd seen this afternoon after school. Surprisingly, the bud is already on the brink of blooming. His smile grows deeper, imagining how much his mother would beam at the news.

  


After preparing his book bag for the next day of school, Jongin washes up. Like every other night, Jongin tries to get Jjang to sleep with him, but Jjang always prefers his older sister. Jongin watches Jjang race to the other room and realizes that he’s too spent to try and be persuasive.

"Traitor" Jongin mutters, settling into his bed.

"Good night!" he yells across the hallway where his sister's light is still on.

"Good night, Jongin-ah" the soft voice of Jungah comes in reply.

Jongin tosses himself onto his bed, wondering if he should read a bit before he sleeps. However, upon laying his head on the soft pillow, his exhaustion turns into dizziness and he feels the room get stuffy. Reluctantly, Jongin gets up once more to open the window before he tucks himself into bed. He doesn’t remember when he falls asleep, but only registers a deep dark abyss once he’s in the middle of it.

❀❀❀

The next morning, the sunshine coming through his window blinds wakes Jongin up. His eyes are bleary and he feels sluggish. Covered in sweat, Jongin tries to sit up but he soon realizes he has trouble moving his muscles.

Jungah enters his room with a small, wet towel and a bowl of water on a tray along with a packet of powdered medicine and drinking water. There’s a line of concern on Jungah’s forehead and when she sighs deeply, Jongin frowns along with her. Jongin only realizes that his breath is labored when Jungah puts the wet towel on his forehead.

“You’re burning up” she tells him in a concerned whisper. “You shouldn’t go to school today. Just rest.”

Jjang comes sauntering in hesitantly after Jungah. Jjang too seems to be concerned and quietly jumps up on the bed, laying his head down near Jongin’s pillow carefully as he watches Jongin tap the packet of medicine into his mouth. 

When Jongin chuckles after washing down the bitter powder with water, Jjang gives him a cheerful lick on the nose, rolling onto his back and asking for belly rubs. Laughing, Jongin complies, but the laughter turns into coughing that Jongin finds hard to stop.

“Come on, Jjang” Jungah tells the canine, smoothing the towel back on Jongin’s forehead. “Let’s leave Jongin to rest.” Turning to Jongin, Jungah gives her younger brother a small smile. “Get some more sleep okay, Jongin-ah? I’ll come back in a bit.”

The medication leaves a weird numbing and sour taste on his taste buds and Jongin swallows repeatedly, trying to get rid of the flavor. The movement of his eyelids turns viscous, like molasses. And after a few measured breaths, Jongin closes his eyes and falls asleep.

Or so he thinks he does. 

He's looking at the clock on his desk when a movement distracts him. It's the violet bud. It's unfurling and Jongin sits up, awed. Entranced, he pulls back his covers and walks toward the flower. Carefully, he lets his fingers brush along the delicate petals. His vision is still a little cloudy from sleep, but he’s fairly sure that he’s witnessing the small flower blossom, petals still a little straggly from the moisture. And just when Jongin's mouth lets out a sound of awe, a tiny creature pops out of the middle, yawning and stretching as if waking from a long nap.

"Ahhh" the tiny creature moans as he stretches. Then, even before his eyes are open, a grimace forms on the tiny face. "Darn mutt” the creature mutters, as if remembering a bad dream.

The creature is roughly the size of Jongin’s thumb. The first thing Jongin notices is the shocking blue-purple hue of the creature’s hair. Some kind of dark bristly tunic that contrasts with his pale skin covers his body and the creature smooths it down as he gets up to stand. 

On closer inspection, Jongin can see that there’s something long and pointed strapped to the creature’s back with a piece of tiny white rope. His feet are black with dirt, but the creature seems to pay no mind to the mess.

Jongin stays shock still and watches as the tiny creature rummages around in the fleshy leaves to produce a small green branch. It's then that Jongin remembers. The tiny creature is the same one from yesterday afternoon - the one who had tried to ride Jjang around like a horse.

Jongin's too shocked to stay anything, but the tiny creature lays eyes on him first. Stumbling backwards in shock as they make eye contact, the tiny creature sputters then squeaks something incoherent as he falls out of the flowering pot in surprise.

When the tiny creature comes back up, he does so with branch in hand, brandishing it like a sword. 

"Human!" the creature thunders. "Get thee back!"

While Jongin lets out a wordless scream, not knowing what to do about the tiny intruder. Jongin stumbles backward, scrambling to the far edge of his bed, far away from the creature as possible. But the creature seems to have gained some courage at Jongin's reaction, inching closer, branch still stretched out.

"Who are you?!" demands the creature.

"_What _are YOU?" Jongin asks in return.

"I am Minseok, of the Kim clan." The reply comes rather easily and haughtily.

"The Kim clan?"

"You wouldn't know" the creature says primly, nose quite literally in the air. "I am a Faerie of the utmost high."

“A fairy?” Jongin repeats incredulously.

“No, a _ Faerie _.” The creature named Minseok narrows his eyes at Jongin. "And who, are you, Human?"

"I'm Jongin.” Jongin rubs his eyes again for good measure before he continues. “Of the… um… Kim family.”

Minseok sniffs daintily. "Imagine. A human sharing a family name with a Faerie. But you know… a rice cake is a rice cake whether pounded or baked.”

As the creature looks around the room, Jongin doesn’t even try to mask his confusion. And as Minseok’s eyes alight on each object in Jongin’s bedroom, it makes Jongin nervous, almost as if the creature is judging how Jongin lives. After a once over of Jongin’s room, Minseok’s eyes squint in thought as he takes a long inhale through his nose.

“I don't know how you got a hold of my vessel, but I am sure my nose has not failed me. I also have faith in Yixing’s magic and therefore-"

"Vessel?" Jongin wonders aloud. 

Minseok glares at being interrupted, but gestures to the quite dead African Violet behind him as he continues. "You should be honored to behold my visage and be graced by my presence, Human.”

"What happened to my plant?" Jongin’s face falls at the sight of his mother’s plant. “If that’s your ‘vessel’, then why did you have to kill it?!” 

Minseok has the decency to look a little chagrined at the sight of the shriveled and ashy African Violet. “Though temporarily indisposed at present, I am of the highest in my land and every flower of my liking can be turned into a personal vessel for my personal use and-"

"You don't seem very high and mighty to me" Jongin interrupts, shock turning into anger now. “And how could you be a fairy when you go around killing plants? Aren’t you supposed to be one with nature or something?”

“That’s not exactly-” Minseok clears his throat at Jongin’s angered expression, but the resulting voice is meeker than before. “It wasn’t my intention. I was merely surprised at the sight of a giant creature such as yourself and may or may not have fired off a bit of dark magic by mistake…” Minseok’s voice trails off as his eyes focus on own his fidgeting feet. 

“That was my mother’s and if she finds out that-” 

Perhaps it’s the medication, Jongin thinks, but embarrassingly, Jongin feels his throat start to close up. Hot tears threaten to spill from his eyeballs and _damnit_, he’s just started his second year of high school already, he shouldn’t be crying over a dead plant. But nevertheless, emotion over takes him like a wave and he finds it hard to breathe again. Behind his watery vision, Jongin can see the tiny fairy hopping back and forth on his feet in panic.

“I’m- I don’t- Don’t-”

“What?” Jongin barks angrily.

“...please don’t cry” Minseok pleads in a small voice.

And just like that, Jongin feels his tears dry up. The heat behind his eyes dissipates and all that’s left is Jongin swallowing the thickness in his throat.

“Faeries don’t like debt, you see” Minseok continues. “We are very exact with what is owed and what is borrowed. I promise I’ll help you find a plant even more beautiful than the violet for your mother.”

Jongin’s eyes widen at Minseok’s words. “More beautiful?” Jongin asks.

Minseok, who’s face had fallen quite badly at Jongin’s tears, perks up at Jongin’s interest. “Oh yes! More beautiful than humans are usually familiar with.”

“Is it a violet?”

Minseok shakes his head solemnly. “It is much more rare than a violet. It’s called the Cerulean Ghost and it grows only near my home.” Minseok puffs up his chest, looking quite proud suddenly. “In fact” he says, “I was actually born from-”

“Wait” Jongin frowns before sniffling. “If this flower is so rare and beautiful, why are you giving it to me in exchange for my African Violet?” Jongin’s eyes narrow. “You said yourself, Faeries are exact.”

Minseok sniffs haughtily, finding his original stride again. “Like I was saying. My nose has never failed me and the vessel brought me here. Which means _ you _are exactly what I was looking for.”

“Your nose?”

Inch by inch, Jongin had crept closer to the tiny creature. They were almost now, nose to nose. The tiny fairy taps his nose with pride.

“Yes. I am quite proud of my nose, but that’s not the main issue here. I will help you find and acquire the Cerulean Ghost and you will help me on my quest. Deal?”

Jongin hesitates, staring at the small creature named Minseok with unblinking eyes. Minseok stares right back and with so much conviction that Jongin eventually says, “Alright.”

Minseok nods with a smile, satisfied, and Jongin thinks about how happy his mother will be.

“But what kind of quest is this?” Jongin asks, a little late.

The small fairy grins. “All in good time, Human. All in good time.”


	2. Chapter 2

Somehow, Jongin finds himself trudging along River Street once more. It’s the middle of the day, yet there doesn’t seem to be a single person in sight. It’s just as well, Jongin thinks, because, in his shock, Jongin hadn’t had the mind to change out of his pajamas. He fingers the hem of his navy blue pajama top peeking out of his parka sleeve. The teddy bear patterned outfit brings an embarrassed blush to Jongin’s cheeks.

“Where are we going anyway?” Jongin tosses his question toward the stray calico cat sauntering on the plowed road in front of him. His tone is a little brusque with displaced embarrassment.

“We’re almost there, human.” The small voice carries surprisingly well and the feline carrying the tiny fairy on her back meows as if in agreement.

The agile calico climbs down to the edge of the river with a small leap and jump, stopping abruptly at the icy river’s edge. It’s not as easy for Jongin. Once Jongin’s done precariously sliding down the steep concrete incline lining the edge of the river, Jongin catches up to the fairy just in time to see him climbing down from the cat. Minseok whispers something in the feline’s ear and placing a tiny hand on the cat’s nose and bowing his head as a farewell.

Jongin makes eye contact with the stray as it mewls, eyes flashing, and darts off into the bushes. Jongin’s eyes follow it until the cat disappears into the branches. 

“Human!” comes the tiny voice. “Over here! Human!”

Jongin looks down, squinting to see now that the fairy is off of the cat. Both of the fairy’s arms are stretched upwards, reminding Jongin of his cousin’s baby when she wants to be picked up.

“Up! I require you to carry me!” commands the fairy.

“Why me?” groans Jongin.

“It’ll be faster! Besides, I don’t weigh that much.”

“What happened to your cat?” Jongin grouses, crouching down as he says it.

“She dislikes the water and the cold. Besides, she has kittens to tend to. She can’t be coming with us in the middle of winter.” Minseok scoffs as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

Jongin rolls his eyes, but bends down to carefully outstretch his hand. The tiny creature climbs onto Jongin’s palm, wobbling a little as Jongin brings his hand up too fast.

“Careful!” the fairy chastises.

Sighing, Jongin carefully slips Minseok into his parka’s breast pocket. 

“Now, where to?” Jongin asks, staring at the irrigation tunnel ahead of them. “Where’s home for you exactly? Do you live near the Seon River?”

There’s a pinch on his left cheek and Jongin yelps in surprise.

“Onward!” the fairy shouts. “I’ll lead the way.”

Jongin briefly thinks about going back home, but remembers the flower that’s promised. He tries to visualize his mother’s happy face with eyes shut tight. With a sigh, Jongin takes a step forward. He was about seventy five percent sure this was a dream now. And if it wasn’t, what did he have to lose?

❀❀❀

“Are we there yet?”

“Further.”

“Are we there yet?”

“A bit further.”

“Now? Are we there yet?”

“Almost there.”

They go back and forth in a similar fashion for what seems like miles. The darkness of the tunnel had slowed them down at first, but now, Jongin was quite used to the low light. What he wasn’t getting used to was the length and the cold. His slippers hadn't been the best choice for a trek like this; his toes are nearly freezing and his legs are getting tired from the exertion.

“Are we-” Jongin starts to ask again, but suddenly, there’s a shining light ahead.

“We’re here” Minseok whispers, having climbed onto Jongin’s shoulder.

Standing on Jongin’s left shoulder and holding onto Jongin’s left ear, Minseok points to the light. Having spent what seems like hours in the dark, Jongin is forced to squeeze his eyes shut at the bright light. When he opens them again, Jongin is surprised to find himself in a very green forest, teeming with unseen life. 

Though not as dark as the tunnel, the forest is dimmed by the canopy of trees that shade the forest floor from the midday sun. It was suddenly much warmer than it was supposed to be - almost tropical - and Jongin stares at the blue sky above him in awe.

“Where are-” Jongin turns his head to address the small fairy, but realizes the now-familiar weight of Minseok on his shoulder, is gone. “Minseok?” Jongin calls out.

Suddenly very aware that he’s alone in an unfamiliar forest, Jongin feels lost. An animal - perhaps a wolf - howls in the distance and Jongin whips around when he hears a branch snapping behind him.

What surprises Jongin isn’t a great big wolf nor a large hungry bear, but a man. The young man is smaller than Jongin and seems about the same age. He looks familiar but he’s wearing some sort of fuzzy tunic with a long spear strapped to his back.

Jongin eyes grow wide at the realization.

“Minseok?”

“Hmm?” the now-life-size Minseok returns distractedly. He’s too busy inspecting a new walking stick he’s picked up off the forest floor to see the shock on Jongin’s face.

Jongin rubs his eyes with his fists. “Ninety nine percent” Jongin mutters. 

“Did you say something?” Minseok asks, now satisfied with his walking stick, free of leaves and smaller branches.

“Nothing” Jongin replies, shaking his head.

Jongin was now definitely ninety nine percent sure that this is all just a dream.

❀❀❀

“So do you control how big you get or…?”

Misneok’s eyes narrow. “What do you wish to say, Human?”

“Just that… you’re awfully short is all.” Jongin puts a hand on the top of Minseok’s head and compares it with his own height. “You only come up to my shoulder even when you’re human sized.”

Minseok swats Jongin’s hand away as his pale skin takes on a tinge of pale lime, then orange. It doesn’t take long for Jongin to figure out that the tint changes with the fairy’s mood. 

“Well good for you, Human” Minseok replies, obviously miffed. “Unfortunately, this is one of my true forms so unless you want me to suck your soul dry for the magic required to alter my appearance drastically, I suggest you not mention the matter again.”

Jongin watches half in horror and half in amusement as Minseok turns a deeper shade of red then, almost black. They trudge along in silence for a couple hundred meters before Jongin carefully opens his mouth again.

“Jongin” he says.

“What?” Minseok whips his head around, narrowing his eyes.

“My name’s Jongin.” Jongin offers a small smile as an apology. “You don’t have to call me ‘Human’. You can call me Jongin.”

Minseok merely gives an injured sniff, turning his head to face the path. Jongin clears his throat, but smiles at the way Minseok’s skin is back to it’s pleasant peachy color.

“So, where are we going again?” Jongin asks, looking around at the densely packed forest.

As they go further along, it seems like the forest is growing dimmer and it’s not due to the time of day. 

“A friend’s place” Minseok tells Jongin in a more giddy voice than before. “Yixing is the man to see.”

“Yixing” Jongin rolls the unfamiliar name on his tongue.

The second he says the name aloud, they step into what seems to be a clearing in the middle of a grove. The ground is spongy under his shoes and there’s a definite and heavy silence that fills this part of the forest. Compared to the forest they had walked through before, this area seems like a completely different world.

Despite the beauty of the forest, Jongin shudders. There’s an eerie lack of life in this clearing. The canopy is so dense that Jongin can no longer see the sky peeking through the leaves. Jongin doesn’t like the looks of this place, beautiful or not, but he follows Minseok closely, trusting Minseok’s surefooted steps. 

The massive twisting trunks of the trees in this grove are so high that Jongin can barely see the tops of them as he stands underneath. He feels the whole place vibrating with energy and it’s then that he realizes that Minseok too is on edge.

Gently, he slips his hand in Minseok’s. Turning his gaze on their now joined hands, Minseok stills, stopping in the middle of his step. Slowly, he looks up at Jongin.

“Are you scared?” Minseok asks quietly.

Something about Minseok’s voice makes Jongin more honest than he normally would have been.

“A little” Jongin admits. And he doesn’t want to be. (He’s almost seventeen!) But he finds no judgement in Minseok’s black eyes.

“Jongin.”

Jongin’s breath catches in his throat. Not only has Minseok never called him by his name before, he’s never quite seen Minseok this close as in his human size. The fairy is somehow sharp lines and edges blended with round features and shapes. The ends of his eyes curve sharply like a cat’s but his irises are deep and round, swirling rapidly in a mixture of colors. Minseok’s cheeks bunch up, soft and formed, as he smiles, but the tip of his nose that touches Jongin’s cheek as Minseok leans in, is delicately pointed.

“Remember what you whispered to your violet that night?” Minseok whispers in Jongin’s ear. 

Recalling, the tips of Jongin’s ears get hot.

“Don’t worry” Minseok recites, as if from memory. “I’ll protect you.”

Jongin flushes, not expecting to hear his own words repeated back to him. Minseok leans away with a small smile, squeezing Jongin’s hand. They continue walking like that, hand in hand, and somehow, the forest isn’t so scary anymore and Minseok isn’t as tense.

After what seems like half an hour of walking with mindless chatter, Minseok grows quiet. Jongin too gets distracted as he stares at the ground. 

“The ground, it’s-”

“Yes” Minseok tells him. “It means we’re close.”

“It’s beautiful” Jongin whispers as he watches the forest floor light up in patches of greens, pinks, and oranges. 

Tiny lights illuminate the soft mossy ground with each step, as if the forest floor was alive and responding to their touches.

Sensing the tension back in Minseok’s grip, Jongin tears his eyes away from the forest greenery. It’s then that he hears the voices and the soft, but almost sinister fluttering of wings.

  
“What is that?”  
“A giant?”  
“No, they aren’t allowed in these parts.”  
“Why it’s a human!”  
“They aren't allowed either!”

Whispers that seem so far away yet almost inside Jongin’s head, fill the air all around them. Minseok pulls Jongin even closer to his body and Jongin can feel the bristles of Minseok’s tunic on his cheek.

“I brought him.” Minseok says boldly, not too loudly, but not a whisper. “This human is under my protection.”

The screeching of a crow rings through the air.

“Minseok, Minseok, Minseok…”  
“Fallen so far.”  
“Fallen…”  
“Fallen so deep.”  
“To be consorting with _ humans… _ ”  
“-must have desperate.”

“Don’t listen, Jongin” Minseok tells Jongin through gritted teeth.

But Jongin doesn’t miss the way Minseok’s skin tinges red and yellow. There’s a question bubbling up inside of him, but Jongin purses his lips tightly, squeezing Minseok’s hand back as a sign of support.

As the voices continue to whisper evil things, the duo presses on. Jongin follows Minseok’s lead and places one foot in front of the other without a word. Eventually, the voices fade into the distance. The sunlight comes back into the forest, albeit still dim through the leaves. The sounds of the forest return. And this time, when Jongin breathes a sigh of relief at passing through that particular part of the forest, a huge raccoon jumping down from the top of a tree makes Jongin scream.

“Oh no!” the raccoon cries out in response. “I scared the poor human! What to do?”

Minseok clicks his tongue, trying to help Jongin stand up again from where he’s fallen on his behind in surprise. But Jongin’s too busy staring in horror as the raccoon stands on his two hind legs, bringing his two front paws up to its mouth in an almost human display of shock and chagrin.

Sighing, Minseok gestures to the five-story raccoon and introduces the creature in a bored voice.

“Jongin, this is Jongdae. Jongdae, this is Jongin.”

The raccoon titters, eyes shaping themselves into crescents as he reaches out a paw.

“Nice to meet you Jongin” the raccoon says. “You have an interesting smell.”

Jongin doesn’t know what to be first - offended, shocked, or on guard. He blinks up at the giant raccoon named Jongdae and finally reaches out a hand to touch Jongdae’s paw. Jongdae shakes delicately in consideration of their size difference. And when Jongdae titters again, Jongin realizes that the sound is Jongdae’s laughter.

“I thought you’d gotten lost in the human world!” Jongdae gushes to Minseok, who’s too busy checking the angle of the sun. “We hadn’t heard from you in-”

“Where’s Kyungsoo?” Minseok interrupts.

“Hmm? Oh him? He’s off somewhere.” The raccoon waves his front paw lazily, emotion still glistening beneath his eyes. “You know how he is. Busier than a Bilge Bee from the Bleaklands. Always flying this way, then that. Always complaining about how loud I get when all I did was try to sing him the latest song bird melody I heard over near the Listless Lakes.”

Minseok lets out a grunt, barely listening as the raccoon prattles on, and eyes Jongin.

“Ready?” Minseok asks, as if they haven’t just been joined by a raccoon the size of an office building.

But Jongdae doesn’t seem too scary anymore and Jongin figures it’s better being accompanied by a giant raccoon than those voices from earlier on. Jongin shifts to get up from where he’s still on his behind. 

“Ow!” Jongin cries out, dropping to his bottom again.

There’s a sharp and radiating pain coming from his right ankle and he grips it in agony, face twisting in response.

“Oh dear!” Jongdae cries, fretting as Minseok rushes to Jongin’s side. “It’s all my fault, isn’t it? Oh gosh. What do we _ do _?”

Minseok frowns. When he applies a gentle pressure on Jongin’s ankle, Jongin cries out again. Minseok’s frown deepens as he once again looks up at the sky, then Jongdae.

“We could…” Minseok starts to say, but he trails off. 

The remaining path toward Yixing’s is just beyond the edge of the forest. Jongin can see it too. It’s a dirt path leading out of the woods and into a mountain road - not an easy trek for someone with a sprained ankle.

Jongin worries at his bottom lip. A part of him would like to tell Minseok to leave him there, but at the same time, he doesn’t want to be left in an unfamiliar territory, let alone the woods filled with those ominous voices.

Jongin looks up at Minseok, who’s about to open his mouth again. But it’s Jongdae the raccoon who beats them both.

“He can ride on my back!” comes the cheery voice.

Minseok gasps as Jongin exclaims, “Oh!”, wondering why he hadn’t thought of it before.

But the gasp from Minseok takes Jongin aback. When Jongin looks into Minseok’s face, he sees one of genuine shock and outrage.

“No, Jongdae!” Minseok cries.

The raccoon shrugs. “It’s my fault in the first place, isn’t it?”

Jongdae lies almost flat to the ground, nuzzling his nose at Jongin’s cheek reassuringly.

“But, Jongdae-” Minseok starts to protest, but Jongdae makes a chattering sound with his teeth to interrupt.

“It’s alright” Jongdae says firmly. Turning to Jongin, Jongdae asks, “You aren’t afraid of heights, are you?”

Jongin shakes his head, a little dumbfounded. He’s still not quite sure why Jongdae’s offer shocks Minseok so much, but if it means being able to accompany the Faerie instead of being left behind, Jongin is more than up for it.


	3. Chapter 3

As Minseok had predicted, the trio reach Yixing’s cabin around dusk. It is as if they’re following the sun as it dips beyond the mountain’s peaks. Yixing’s cabin is located on one of the jutting cliffs on the top of the precipice and Jongin is once again glad that he’s able to ride on Jongdae’s back.

As the sun disappears, taking the oranges, pinks, and purple splashes across the sky with it, Minseok knocks on Yixing’s door - a wooden artifact that looks like it has seen better days. After one final nuzzle on Jongin’s cheek, Jongdae says his goodbyes, shocking Jongin at the sudden departure.

“You aren’t coming in with us?” Jongin asks, a little forlorn at losing his walking companion so soon.

Jongdae laughs, using his soft paw to pat Jongin on the head. “Yixing’s always too polite to mention it, but I don’t really fit well in there. Don’t worry, Jongin! We’ll meet again soon. I’m sure of it! Meanwhile, don’t forget to practice the song I taught you!”

Jongin laughs with Jongdae; the raccoon’s laughter is unmistakably contagious. He nods and sends Jongdae off with a wave. Minseok also tosses a wave in Jongdae’s direction. When Jongin turns around, he finds the door still silent and shut tight.

“Do you think he isn’t home?” Jongin asks nervously. The night is settling in and the air is getting cooler. “What if we have to go back?” he asks, looking back toward the darkening path behind them.

Minseok smiles reassuringly. “Do not worry, Human. Yixing’s just a bit... eccentric. He can get very lost in his work. He is one of the best casters I know. He just... takes some time to answer the door.”

When Jongin looks back at the direction Jongdae disappeared to, Minseok chuckles. “Missing the raccoon already?” Minseok teases.

Jongin puffs up his cheeks, ready to disagree, but finds it hard to do so when he starts thinking about the cheery face with the curly smile.

“I miss him too” Minseok admits after a beat of silence. “His cheeriness is contagious. But we can’t hog him to ourselves. After all, he’s the protector of the forest.”

“Protector?” Jongin repeats in surprise. “Of the forest?!”

Minseok nods, laughing again. He opens his mouth to explain, but just then, the door to the cabin bangs open.

“Oh my gosh. So sorry!” A pale,bespectacled man with golden hair opens the door. He looks as surprised as Jongin. “I thought I heard something but then- You wouldn’t believe- Oh, what am I saying? Come in. Please. Come in.”

The man ushers Jongin into a spacious cabin, cozier than it looks on the outside. There’s a fire going and a pile of warm blankets next to a nicely worn looking couch. Jongin assumes this man is Yixing, but as Yixing helps Jongin onto the couch by the fireplace, he can’t stop staring at Minseok. There is definite and obvious relief on Minseok’s face. After Yixing is done making sure Jongin’s ankle is well supported, he turns to Minseok who falls into Yixing’s chest as if he’d been waiting. He wraps two strong arms around Yixing and buries his face into the crook of Yixing’s neck.

“It’s good to be back, Yixing” Jongin hears Minseok murmur into the man’s neck.

Their obvious closeness makes something twinge in the bottom of Jongin’s stomach, but he figures it’s because he’s hungry. Jongin realizes that he hasn’t eaten since this morning. Suddenly, the morning seems like days, weeks, no,  _ months  _ ago. And Jongin feels a pang of homesickness in his chest.

Everything comes at him at once - exhaustion, the toasty fire, his swollen ankle, the strange twist in his gut, and his homesickness. Jongin contemplates going back, telling Minseok that he’s sorry, but that he just wants to go home. But suddenly, the image of his mother’s face flashes before his eyes.

“Always try your best, Jongin” his mother always told him. “Make sure you live a happy life.”

Something hot makes the back of Jongin’s eyes itch and he blinks the moisture away. There’s a warm blanket around him now that Minseok drapes over his shoulders. And Minseok explains Jongin’s injury to Yixing who seems to be some sort of doctor.

“And Jongdae carried him all the way over here, so he’s not been walking on it, but I’m still concerned that-”

“Jongdae carried the human, you say?” Yixing interrupts gently.

Inquisitive eyes, magnified by eye glasses, come into Jongin’s field of vision quite suddenly and Jongin jerks his head back at the invasion of personal space.

“Quite interesting. Very, very amazing” Yixing mutters as he withdraws and hands Minseok a little jar. “This should do the trick. Crushed and mixed the poultice myself.”

“And don’t forget the flowers I asked for” Minseok adds hurriedly.

“Ah, yes yes. Thanks for the reminder. I’ll go get them now.” Yixing tears his eyes away from Jongin while absentmindedly muttering. “The great protector carried a  _ human  _ all the way here! Ha! Why I’ll live to see everything I tell you!”

There’s a cooling sensation on his ankle. As Jongin looks down, he feels the feather light touch of Minseok’s hands as they apply Yixing’s poultice on the angry, swollen joint. The relief is immediate. For all Yixing’s quirkiness, his skill seems to be genuine.

Though Jongin’s pain is now gone thanks to the medication, Minseok himself looks pained as he carefully applies the gauze over Yixing’s grassy concoction. Jongin’s eyes search Minseok’s body. Had Minseok gotten hurt at some point? Jongdae was so tall that there had been times when the small faerie was out of Jongin’s sight. Had Jongin been too busy singing with Jongdae that he had missed something?

“Are- Are you hurt?” Jongin asks carefully, knowing how prideful the faerie was.

The edges of the faerie’s skin are tinged a dark blue, almost matching his hair. Sighing, Minseok looks up at Jongin, having finished the dressing.

“Yes” Minseok replies with a hurt expression.

Jongin sits up straight. “Where!?! Show me!”

But Minseok shakes his head. Instead, he points to his chest. “For some reason, it hurts inside here, Jongin. When I see you hurt. When I see you having fun with Jongdae. When I think that I brought you on this dangerous mission without a second thought, I-”

Minseok breaks eye contact, looking down at Jongin’s ankle with a sad expression.

“I think” Minseok continues in a smaller voice. “‘What have I done?’ and I start to hate myself for putting you in danger.”

Jongin doesn’t know how to respond. He remembers the twinge he’d felt when he’d seen Minseok fall into Yixing’s embrace at the door. Jongin’s not really sure if what they’re feeling is the same and he can’t find the words to explain it to Minseok. Nevertheless, he still wants to encourage Minseok, wants to make him feel better, so Jongin starts to formulate words in his mind to convey this feeling. But before he can, Yixing comes bustling into the cabin again.

“Here they are! Here they are!” Yixing announces as he lifts a small flowering pot in his hands. “It took me awhile because they haven’t sprouted yet, but these are it. I’m sure!”

Jongin blinks as Minseok smiles in relief. “Let me see” Minseok says with outstretched arms. He looks excited and it makes Jongin all the more curious.

Almost burying his nose into the soil, Minseok takes a deep inhale once he gets the flowering pot in his possession. Yixing smiles as Minseok’s face glows quite pink in happiness.

“Oh yes” Minseok breathes. “This is it. This is the Cerulean Ghost.”

Jongin’s eyes widen. 

“Is this the-?”

“Yes. This is my payment to you” Minseok grins. “They’re not in bloom yet. But they’re beautiful, ethereal things that will capture your mind and soul once you see them. I’m sure your mother will love them.”

Gently, Minseok slips the flowering pot into Jongin’s hands. He cradles the earthen pot in both hands, awed.

“Now don’t forget. They need gentle care and consideration for sprouting. And of course,” he adds with a wink, “they also need extra love for flowering.”

With all the fascination and curiosity that the Cerulean Ghost brings, Jongin’s moment with Minseok is lost. But he doesn’t forget. And instead, Jongin files the emotion away in the back of his mind. They weren’t done with the mission yet, after all. 

The onion soup and bread Yixing offers them for dinner is surprisingly delicious. Jongin gets seconds and when the warm meal is in his stomach, he falls asleep right away. The exhaustion and exertion over his injury makes his eyelids heavy. And right before he falls into a deep sleep he wonders how he can sleep when this all seems like a dream itself.

What wakes Jongin later that night isn’t a thump in the night, but the soft melodic voice of Minseok. He’s sitting at the wooden table in the kitchen and Jongin’s lying on the couch still. Not fully awake, it takes a while to process what the two are talking about.

“Not there!” Minseok whispers furiously. “When I fell from that tower, I vowed it was the last place that I-”

“You must” Yixing’s voice interrupts Minseok, calm but firm. 

“You said I needed an ally from the human world. And the violet brought me to him.”

“Yes.”

“So, Jongin is all I need.”

Fully coming out of his sleepy daze at the mention of his name, Jongin lies still. He doesn’t want to eavesdrop, but at the same time, something tells him that this conversation wouldn’t be happening if he were awake.

“Minseok-ah” Yixing says, hand sliding over Minseok’s. “You must face Geumin. You have to go back to find your wings.”

There’s a silence during which Jongin realizes one thing - the one thing that had been bothering him, the one thing that he couldn’t quite place. Minseok had never shown him his wings. Despite Jongin’s only knowledge of fairy creatures being from Disney movies like Peter Pan, Jongin knows that fairies are supposed to have wings. And despite being a fairy…

“Why?” Minseok’s broken voice comes like a white hot lightning bolt to the middle of Jongin’s chest. It hurts and buries there like a permanent fixture.

“Minseok-ah…”

“Why must that be the only way?”

From Jongin’s slit eyes, he can see that Minseok is white as sheet. He leans on Yixing’s shoulder as Yixing rubs Minseok’s back. Jongin shudders, pulling the blanket around his shoulders tighter around him, because he can barely contain the overwhelming urge to go comfort Minseok himself.

“Geumin is the one who holds the key. He’s also the one that made the lock. He’s the one who you must face to get your wings.”

Minseok sighs, squeezing his eyes shut. The tiny warrior in Minseok is gone and in his stead, there’s a scared young boy, just like Jongin.

“But now” Yixing continues, “you have Jongin. Your ally.”

Minseok sniffs reluctantly.

“And of course. You have me. As well as your many allies who have always been by your side.”

Jongin watches as Yixing squeezes Minseok’s shoulder gently, letting Minseok bury his face into Yixing’s chest. There’s another twinge in Jongin’s gut and this time, it pierces deeper and stays a bit longer, as Jongin discovers Yixing’s eyes on his, winking and smiling.

They stay for one more night as Jongin’s ankle gets better, but the injury heals quickly thanks to Yixing’s herbs.

On the second day, they head out. Though a little hurt that Minseok hasn’t revealed the mission details to Jongin, Jongin decides to put his trust into Minseok, so that Minseok can grow to trust Jongin himself.

Yixing supplies them with rations and equips them with necessities in a magically light pack. There’s even a place for Jongin to put his flowering pot and he’s glad for it, even though he’s a little reluctant to admit it to Yixing.

After their goodbyes, they head down the mountain once more, back the way they came from.

“Are we going to meet Jongdae again?” Jongin asks hopefully.

But Minseok frowns a little before answering, “Perhaps. And perhaps not.”

As they near the forest again, Jongin finds himself remembering the dark place in the middle of the forest. The place where the voices had bombarded Minseok with spiteful words. He worries so much that by the time they’re at the bottom of the mountain, Jongin hasn’t properly held a single conversation with Minseok, much less listened to anything Minseok was saying.

As if sensing Jongin’s apprehension, Minseok stops them at the edge of the forest, where there’s a clearing.

“Are you worried, Jongin?” Minseok asks.

The sun shines down on Minseok’s face, making his skin glow and look almost like a hologram. There’s a shimmer that appears like a halo on top of Minseok’s head and Jongin stares at the faerie unconsciously.

“Jongin?” Minseok asks again. The place between his eyebrows wrinkles with worry. “Are you upset about the Faeries we met in the Dark Forest?”

Jongin sighs. “A little” he admits. “Are we going through there again? Maybe we can take a round about way? If it’s not too much trouble…”

Minseok scrunches his nose in thought. The expression makes Jongin smile, despite it all.

Soon enough, Minseok nods sharply as if deciding.

“Yes” Minseok tells him. “There is another way. It’ll be good, so I can show you the place where I was born. If you like flowers, you’ll love it there. And on the way, I think I should tell you the truth about this mission. It wasn’t fair of me to offer you the flower and censor the details of your end of the bargain.”

The faerie hangs his blue head in apology. The bright strands of cerulean blue catch in the sunlight and shine and scatter prism lights all around him.

“It’s okay” Jongin whispers, carefully running a hand through Minseok’s hair and ending up stroking his cheek. “I promise to try my best for you.”

After their talk at the edge of the forest, the rest of the journey is filled with laughter and chatter. Jongin tells Minseok about his friends at school while Minseok explains about how he met Jongdae and his other forest friends.

“Your friend Sehun sounds like a trickster spirit I know. One who I met in the mountains. He is amusing.” Minseok giggles at Jongin’s stories about Sehun, making Jongin feel torn between being pleased and being just a little bit jealous.

At nightfall, they are in the northern part of the forest, away from the Dark Forest but still a ways from Minseok’s birth place, which Minseok seems eager to show Jongin. They decide to set up camp at the edge of a clearing. It’s not out in the open, still in the shelter of the trees, but near enough to the clearing so they can see the stars without impediment.

Lying on their backs, Jongin and Minseok continue to tell each other about their respective lives. The sky is a beautiful shade of dark purple swirled with sparkles of opal and littered with streaks of gold as stars stream across the expanse. Jongin has never seen a more beautiful night. 

The ground is soft with a fuzzy and fine moss. Raking his fingers through the texture, Jongin’s fingers brush Minseok’s. There’s only a slight skip in Minseok’s sentence to show that Minseok’s felt it too. But suddenly, Jongin’s all too aware of the warm body next to his and the faintly pink tinge to Minseok’s pale skin in the moonlight.

“Don’t you?” Minseok asks softly - a follow up to something he’s just said. But Jongin hasn’t been listening.

“Sorry, can you-?” is all Jongin gets to say before an inky cloud enshrouds his whole body. 

He screams, but the black cloud muffles his voice as if a magical gag. Unable to see, Jongin thrashes his body wildly. He hears something shatter behind him, but he doesn’t have the mind to care. More than anything, he’s worried for Minseok. Beautiful Minseok, who had just been inches from him just moments ago.

The harder Jongin resists, the tighter it seems the cloud envelopes him. The image of quick sand flashes in his mind. So, Jongin lies completely still, hoping that it’ll help and straining to see even a glimpse of Minseok. But all Jongin sees is darkness - a darkness so deep that he can’t quite tell if his eyes are open or closed - but what Jongin can make out is sound.

“What’s the meaning of this?” comes Minseok’s somewhat muffled voice. “Unhand me at once!”

“You have no right to lord over us, Minseok.” The voice is a hiss and the words are spat out in spite. 

Jongin shudders. They’re the voices from the Dark Forest.

“Release him!” Minseok shouts. But as Jongin struggles to maintain consciousness, Minseok’s voice keeps getting smaller and farther away.

”Unhand him! Let him go, you detritivores!”

Eventually, all Jongin sees is darkness as he slips into a kind of trance, led away by the scary voices that they had tried so hard to avoid.


	4. Chapter 4

Without Minseok, the Faerie world is a dark and dreary place. Jongin wakes up to find that the dark cloud which had imprisoned him is gone, but he is still in darkness nevertheless. The mysterious voices turn out to be the voices of tall humanoid beetles under the Faerie Prince's power, with wings like hard and deadly dark metal. They shove Jongin into something like a dungeon after lifting the magic that had held Jongin under the entrapping dark cloud.

Jongin still has his backpack from Yixing, but when he uses his hands to feel around, he cuts himself on a shard - a remnant of his plant gift from Minseok. His present for his mother - the Cerulean Ghost - had been smashed to smithereens in the ambush. Jongin stares forlornly at his cut hand. The blood drips, but rather than the pain in his wound, he feels the pain of regret.

He regrets not grabbing Minseok’s hand at that perfect moment. He regrets being unable to say anything in Yixing’s cabin when Minseok had opened up. He regrets leaving his house without a note and he regrets not doing the dishes for his older sister that night. 

Jongin regrets not being able to say goodbye to his mother and for not taking the phone call from his father last week. He buries his face in his hands as he sheds tears at the thought of the sad broken flower pot, abandoned and trampled back in the forest clearing.

“Why are you crying? Aren’t you too big to be crying?” a light and amused voice rings inside the cramped, dark dungeon.

“There’s no rule to when you’re allowed to cry” Jongin retorts back bitterly.

“I’m sorry” the voice is quickly apologetic, but soon turns mischievous. “I just mean, you’re bigger than us all, so you must shed big tears. You’re going to drown us!” the voice jokes.

Jongin looks up sharply, but the dungeon seems bare. He frowns. The space isn’t big and Jongin had been sure he was alone.

“Who are you? No, where are you?” Jongin asks, squinting into the darkness deeper into the dungeon cell.

“And who’s asking?” the voice comes again. There’s laughter mingled with the words and Jongin gets a feeling he’s being patronized.

“Show yourself!” Jongin says louder, furiously scrubbing his cheeks of any moisture.

A spot in the corner by the furthest wall shifts. The darkness distorts into something like the shape of an invisible man. And when Jongin blinks, a young man with sky blue hair, smaller than Jongin but slightly bigger than Minseok, steps out of the shadows.

The man bows. His hair reminds Jongin of Minseok, but as the young man steps out into what little light there is, Jongin can see that the young man’s hair is a lighter color compared to Minseok’s.

“My name is Baekhyun” the man says grinning. “And you must be the infamous human who’s infiltrated this Fae world.”

“Are you a fairy too?” Jongin asks, emboldened by the similarities between Minseok and Baekhyun.

“A fairy?” the man named Baekhyun repeats.

“Oh, I’m sorry. A _ Faerie _.” Emphasizing the ‘Fae’ part of the word, Jongin is careful remembering that he had just recently learned that not all Faeries were like Minseok.

The young man bursts out laughing.

“Of course not!” Baekhyun replies. “Now, I’ve told you that my name is Baekhyun. What about you?”

“Me? I’m Jongin.”

“Jongin” Baekhyun says musingly. Then, finally, Baekhyun nods. “A good name. For a human.”

Giggling at Jongin’s miffed expression, Baekhyun scoots closer to where Jongin sits. 

“Now, if you can guess what I am, I’ll help you.” There’s a familiar twinkle in Baekhyun’s eye that makes Jongin suspicious. “I’ll give you three tries.”

“And if I can’t guess in three tries?”

“Oh, look at the human!” Baekhyun cackles. “Smarter than you look!”

Jongin frowns at the affront again, making Baekhyun laugh all the more.

“Alright” Baekhyun says after wiping his tears from laughing. “If you win, I help you. And if I win,” Baekhyun says, a more serious glint in his eye this time, “then _ you _ will help _ me _.” 

Baekhyun leans back, arms folded across his chest with a satisfied expression on his face. “Deal?”

Jongin looks at the man up and down. His flippant demeanor and his prankster attitude doesn’t merit much trust. After all, they are both stuck in a dungeon. Surely, Baekhyun’s done something to deserve being locked up? 

But then, Jongin remembers his own unfair situation - locked up without a reason - and wonders if Baekhyun is in the same boat. There isn’t much to go on, but the dungeon’s entrance requirements don’t seem all that justified. 

“I just have one question first.”

“Go on” Baekhyun says generously, sweeping an arm toward Jongin.

“Do you know of a Minseok of the Kim clan?”

Something changes in Baekhyun’s eyes for a split second. Something in those pupils goes out of focus then turns into pinpoints, but soon his irises flash green and indecipherable. All traces of laughter disappear from Baekhyun’s face.

“Oh yes” Baekhyun says lowly, measuring out his words carefully. “I know Kim Minseok. I know Minseok very well indeed.”

Jongin frowns in confusion once more. He had been trying to gauge Baekhyun’s integrity over whether or not he was friends with Minseok. But at Baekhyun’s reply, Jongin isn’t sure what to think.

“Well then, how do you know Minseok?” Jongin asks.

“That’s two questions, Human Jongin. Now it’s time for you to take the deal or leave it.”

“Now wait a minute!” Jongin protests. “How do I know if I can trust you?”

A curling smile spreads across the young man’s face. His face is pale like Minseok’s but his eyes curve downward at the ends and his nose is a soft round shape unlike the sharpness of Minseok’s. Still handsome albeit in a different way, Baekhyun also seems otherworldly to Jongin. Baekhyun, whoever he was, was definitely not human.

“Very well” Baekhyun says. “I’ll tell you how I know Kim Minseok. But after the story, you must take the deal or leave it, understand? Surely you know the ways of this world by now? There are no such thing as favors from strangers and nothing it without a price.”

Hesitating, Jongin eventually agrees and listens carefully when Baekhyun opens his mouth.

“There are few in this world who don’t know the name Minseok. For the name was bestowed upon Minseok by the Faerie Prince himself.

But I knew Minseok when his name was another, when his name wasn’t a commoner’s name such as Minseok. I knew him when his name was Xiumin.”

Baekhyun finds a stick from the brambles of the bundle of hay, used as a cot inside the dungeon. He starts to draw on the sandy floor as he continues his story.

“This world is ruled by the Faerie Prince named Geumin, but it wasn’t always so. The King, bedridden, is blinded by his sickness and his eldest son Geumin uses the sickly King to brandish power like a sword. Long standing tradition in this world has it so that only the offspring who has the most pure and beautiful wings can succeed the Faerie Ruler.

Since he was born, Xiumin was lauded for his wings. I still remember them - a crisp vibrant blue like that of the flower from which he was born. They sparkled like morning dew drops and fluttered as fast as a hummingbird’s.”

“But there was the seed of Minseok’s bane. Jealousy like no other consumed poor Geumin. His skin started to tear and scar from the putrid green emotion of jealousy and when the current King took ill, Geumin started to use the darkest magic for his own gain. He stripped Xiumin of his wings and pushed Xiumin off of the tallest tower in the palace, so that he would never be beautiful again.

Geumin whispered lies into the King’s and the courts’ ears and decreed that Xiumin was dead and that the name should no longer be uttered. And when Xiumin was found, very much alive, Geumin accused him of practicing forbidden magic and stripped him of his name - a name that the King himself had given him.”

Baekhyun’s eyes, now dark with emotion, glisten even in the darkness of the dungeon. Jongin too feels something warm trickling down his face. And even though he can guess the rest of the story, Jongin listens until the end.

“He gave the young man a commoner’s name. An almost human name. Minseok.” Baekhyun writes the name in the sand on the floor. “And Minseok was banished to the mountains to live with the Goblin named Yixing.”

Jongin sighs, unable to tear his eyes from the drawing on the dungeon floor. Among the drawing of the flowers and mountain, there’s a face - one he’s familiar with.

“So you see, Human Jongin. I know Kim Minseok very well, though not much by that name. I’ve been locked up since he was banished and I’ve been trying to get out by myself since. Now, here it comes. Deal or no deal?”

Baekhyun’s face is no longer lit up in mirth or laughter. 

“But, I know Minseok too! He’s the one who brought me here. I have to get back to him. I-”

Baekhyun shakes his head. “That’s not the way this world works. Now, deal or no deal?”

❀❀❀

“I’ll give you one hint” Baekhyun tells him. “I’m not a _Fae_rie.”

“You already said that” Jongin grumbles and scowls at the way Baekhyun imitates him.

Of course, he’d taken the deal. But now, Jongin had to guess Baekhyun’s identity. Mentally, Jongin goes through the list of Minseok’s friends he’s met so far.

After much consideration, Jongin asks, “Are you a goblin?”

“Bzzzt” Baekhyun makes the annoying sound of a buzzer. “Wrong. Two more tries.”

Jongin bites the nail on his thumb. He searches his mind, going over the beings he’s met on his journey with Minseok. There had been the nasty Bees of Bleakland, almost the size of Minseok when Minseok was in his tiny form. But despite the annoying sound Baekhyun was making, that didn’t seem likely.

There had been the Scaled Folk who had helped Jongin cross the lake with Minseok. But those beings had scales all over their skin, glittering all the way down to their fishy tails. No. Though Baekhyun had undeniably beautiful skin, it wasn’t like that of the Scaled Folk living in the lake. 

His thoughts turn to the Dark Forest, where the voices had bombarded them with hurtful words. Minseok had said they were all sorts of beings in the Dark Forest mixed with spirits that lived all throughout their wold. But despite Baekhyun’s sneaky nature, he didn’t seem as evil as those Jongin had heard in the dark place.

Not wanting to waste a chance, Jongin looks at the man intently, trying for superficial clues this time. The young man is wearing a long linen robe, pale blue with white shimmering trimmings to match his hair. It looks like the traditional Korean garb of old and at the long sleeves and long tunic, Jongin wonders if Baekhyun is hiding something.

“Some kind of animal then?” Jongin asks, thinking of Jongdae. If a giant raccoon existed, then why not one that was the size of a person?

“That’s not a guess. That’s a question” Baekhyun says, smirking wider.

“A raccoon? Like the forest’s protector?”

“Bzzt!” Baekhyun cackles. “Wrong again. Last chance!”

Jongin sighs. With his short time in Minseok’s world and his lack of knowledge of supernatural beings, Jongin is lost. He remembers someone Jongdae had frequently referenced, someone named Kyungsoo. But Jongin can’t remember what kind of being Kyungsoo was or if he had even been told at all.

‘I give up’ is what Jongin is about to say when a rush of wind sweeps the dungeon floor. The sand kicks up and in the mini dust storm that follows, Jongin sees Baekhyun’s tunic fly up. In a split second, Jongin sees the ghost of something like a pale white bushy tail behind a pair of linen trousers. Suddenly, a memory sweeps by Jongin’s brain.

Sehun, his best friend, was always pulling pranks - pretending to lose Jongin’s pens or drawing silly things in his notes. He was always trying to charm his way out of things too. And knowing this, everyone around him always seemed to call him a-

“A fox!” Jongin shouts. “You’re a fox, but you can take the form of a human!”

Baekhyun’s nose twitches as he grins, showing his teeth which are sharp and pointed.

“Correct” Baekhyun says. His teeth suddenly chatter, facial features turning more animalistic with a eerie blue light glowing from within him.

Another wind rushes in, except this time, the wind only affects the air around Baekhyun. Whirling the fabric in an impossibly long mobius strip, the wind rearranges Baekhyun’s features and attire. The tunic becomes shorter, revealing a set of pants with a bushy tail coming out. The sleeves become shorter, revealing a set of sharp claws. Baekhyun’s blue hair becomes even lighter and more fluffier and two fox ears pop out from underneath, twitching at the movement of the wind.

“And now, it’s time for me to get out of here!” Baekhyun shouts as he stretches his arms above his head.

“Wait, you said-” Jongin starts to protest.

“I know what I said” Baekhyun tells him with a chortle. “And I’m a fox of my word. But by definition, getting you out of here means I’m getting out of here. See? It’s a win-win.”

“Then why-?”

“That’s how the punishment works I’m afraid. I have to _want_ to get you out _first_ for me to escape. For all the bad rumors about him, Geumin is a masterful trickster with his punishments. I admire some of his work, really.”

“Rumors? Those were just rumors?”

Baekhyun smiles somewhat sadly. “Not everyone starts out pure evil, Jongin.”

Moving even closer to Jongin, Baekhyun leans in conspiratorially to plan out their escape. Though Jongin’s the one who guessed correctly, he feels like he’s the one doing most of the work. 

“Now” Baekhyun tells Jongin after outlining the main points of his plan. “Do something captivating.”

“Excuse me?”

“Captivating. Something that draws attention, you know?”

“What about you? You draw attention pretty well, I’d think.” Jongin looks Baekhyun up and down, sizing him up, but Baekhyun shakes his head.

“This is the spirit world, remember? I’m not a rarity. You, on the other hand, are a human where humans don’t belong. Now, isn’t there something you’re good at?”

And that’s how it happens. Jongin closes his eyes and dances the choreography he’d composed in his last ballet class. The dungeon is dark and it’s more than a little weird to be dancing for a fox spirit. But Jongin imagines Minseok smiling at him, an imaginary audience of one, and as Jongin dances, he thinks that he desperately would like to show Minseok his dances someday.

“Perfect” Baekhyun says after a few minutes.

Jongin’s arms fall to his sides and he opens his eyes to see Baekhyun closing his. The fox spirit claps his hands and when his hands part, his long claws draw out strings of smokey pearls. They look like little glowing balls of energy, dancing as Baekhyun’s hands shape them, pulling and pushing until they grow in size.

Soon, there’s an apparition of Jongin himself, dancing the same dance in an eerie life-like recording of him.

“This will act as a decoy while we escape. Now, hold my hand.”

The small stick Baekhyun had used to draw in the sand, grows in size, morphing into a huge club. Using the club to bang on the rusted gates of their cell, Baekhyun draws the guards in and damages the tiny peeping door in the process. 

Baekhyun’s plan is this: draw the beetle guards in close enough so they see the decoy of Jongin dancing. The damaged peeping door will force the guards to open the heavy dungeon door with the master key. Once the guards are close enough, Baekhyun will grab the keys and they both will escape to freedom whilst the guards are still mesmerized by the dancing human.

It all works perfectly and as Jongin takes one last look behind him, his magical doppelganger is still dancing in the dungeon cell for the insect guards. They go run up the wooden stairs, still hand in hand.

“Don’t let go” Baekhyun whispers.

But once they’re at the top, the sunlight pierces through the darkness of the basement dungeon and Jongin hears the sounds of life. Jongin barely has enough time to register the sound of crows in the sky above, when he realizes where they are. They’re inside the palace grounds and they’re surrounded. A group of guards walk towards them, muttering about the new human prisoner.

In Jongin’s haste to move out of their way, he backs up into a wooden spear. It clatters to the ground and in his surprise, Jongin lets go of Baekhyun’s hand. At once, the dancing apparition disappears and the cry of “Escape!” echoes throughout the dungeon. 

Baekhyun’s magic is undone and as Jongin scrambles to find Baekhyun again, the guards rush him, surrounding Jongin in a matter of seconds. Between the angry beetle faces, Jongin sees the outline of Baekhyun’s fox-like face, barely opaque with the help of his magic.

“You’re welcome” Baekhyun mouths to Jongin in a Cheshire Cat-like smile. Then, “check your pack” are the last words Jongin is left with.

Just like that Baekhyun disappears and the inky cloud consumes Jongin once more.


	5. Chapter 5

“Impressive" says a nasally voice. "For a human, that is.”

The voice, along with a series of sniffles, is the first thing Jongin hears when the heavy, black cloud is lifted from his vision.

Aposematic beetle guards surround him, but the floor is an immaculate white marble and when he lifts his head, there is a rotund man with bluntly cut black hair standing just a few yards in front of him.

“Using the wily fox spirit as an ally to escape my dungeon. Impressive, yes. But foolish.”

A murder of crows squawk noisily outside the palace windows, fluttering their wings against the glass.

“You’re Geumin” Jongin realizes, saying it aloud.

At his name, Geumin’s veiny green wings flutter behind him. Though his wings betray how upset he is, Geumin’s expression remains impassive and cold.

“You are to address him as the Prince, Human” a massive stag beetle guard hisses, brandishing his diamond hard fore wings.

At this, Geumin laughs, feigning leisure. “So, my reputation precedes me? Tell me, what have you learned thus far, Human?”

“Where have you hid Minseok’s wings?” Jongin asks, ignoring Geumin’s question.

The fear and homesickness he’d felt not just a few hours ago disappear. All Jongin feels now is anger for Minseok and annoyance at Geumin’s fake flippant demeanor.

The smile plastered on Geumin’s face falters as Jongin's confidence grows.

“So is that what he told you?” Geumin’s eyes narrow, not unlike the eyes of the beetle guards. “Unfortunately, you’re misinformed. I don’t have his wings. If he doesn’t have them, it’s his own fault.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Geumin smirks. Rolling a small acorn in the palm of his hand, Geumin sits down on the throne.

“You think I have the key to Minseok’s wings.” The Faerie Prince lets out an ugly chuckle. “It’s a funny little spell for punishment. I’m quite proud of it. You’re right in that I locked them up. But I used something older than what people are used to these days. Magic that’s been around since tigers have been smoking on their long pipes, you see.” He crushes the tiny acorn in his fist. “But the key? Ah, the key isn’t something I have. That’s the trick, see? The key is the one thing that only Minseok can find. Or, as it were, something he can never find.”

Jongin watches as Geumin throws his head back, guffawing at his own words. But the spectacle doesn’t make Jongin afraid. Rather, Jongin scoffs. It’s not been that long since he’s known Minseok, but something inside of him trusts him enough not to believe Geumin’s words.

“Are you afraid he’ll take the throne from you?” Jongin asks with a sneer. “Afraid Minseok’s wings will be swifter than yours? It doesn’t take a genius goblin to see that Minseok is more beautiful. Worried that he’ll be better as King? Don’t forget, Prince. You’re not the King just yet.”

The skin on the Faerie Prince’s face tints an ominous shade of black and red. His eyes flash red as he turns his gaze on Jongin. The pieces of the acorn start to smoke inside of Geumin’s fist and his hand flashes a deep red as ashes fall from Geumin’s hand.

“You think you’re immune to my power as a human? I’ll lock you up until your life string ends. Don’t think I can’t! I  _ will  _ be this world’s King!”

The beetle guards surround him, making a jarring clicking noise with their wings that escalates until there’s a too loud thrumming noise in Jongin’s ears. 

“Take him back to the dungeon until I think of a punishment fit for this intruder” Geumin orders.

The guards’ claw-like appendages are almost on Jongin again when the far doors to the throne room burst open. Jongin can barely see the intruder, but Geumin’s face pales as he faces the doors, thrown open to reveal the newcomers. 

Soon the guards are upon them and Jongin can finally see why Geumin's face has gone so pale. There's a shimmering, almost corporeal cloud in the air surrounding Minseok. Jongin, seeing the face he’s been so longing to see, stands in awe. Fierce and determined, Minseok fights in combat with the Prince’s guards and there, behind him, are the faint ghosts of shimmering blue wings. Alongside him, stand Yixing and Jongdae. Brandishing little sachets of spells, Yixing changes the guards one by one, morphing them into trees that root right into the marble floor. Jongdae swipes at the guards and picks them off one by one, sending them flying into the walls and shattering the windows.

“I don’t care about the throne nor my wings any longer” Minseok declares, finally reaching Geumin. He’s panting with the exhaustion of fighting, but Minseok has never looked more beautiful or handsome. “But don’t you dare hurt a hair on Jongin.”

The edges of Minseok turn purple. Jongin wants nothing more than to run to him and to hug him, telling him that Jongin has seen his wings. He wants to tell him that they're beautiful and he doesn't know how, but that they're there on his back. But the moment is lost when the glass windows of the palace shatter all at once. Minseok doesn’t flinch as an enormous flying owl breaks through the thick stained glass at the top of the arched ceiling. Instead, Minseok stands proud and tall, smiling at Jongin as if he's the only person in this room.

“Kyungsoo!” Jongdae cries, surprisingly cheery for a giant raccoon in battle.

And before Geumin can get his bearings and call more of his guards to the throne room, the gargantuan owl, rivaling even Jongdae’s size, sweeps them out of the room. It’s Yixing’s doing for sure, Jongin thinks, as somehow he’s on the ground one second and on the back of an enormous owl the next.

Jongin feels Minseok’s hands on his waist as he steadies Jongin when the owl named Kyungsoo flies at a steep angle into the air. Jongin looks back as the palace gets smaller and smaller in the distance. The feeling of exhilaration suddenly washes over him as Kyungsoo starts coasting, high up in the sky.

“Oof” the owl hoots. “Stop moving, Jongdae!”

Yixing sits near Kyungsoo’s head with Minseok and Jongin behind him. Jongdae flies in Kyungsoo’s talons, enjoying the air whipping his fur about.

A part of Jongin’s chest heaves in relief. They’re free from the vile Geumin and Jongin's reunited with Minseok at last. Jongin turns to say something, but the whoosh of the wind is too loud and too fast.

“There isn’t time” Minseok whispers fervently in Jongin’s ear. “But Baekhyun wanted me to remind you about the present he left in your pack.”

Jongin startles at the mention of the fox spirit. He turns to ask about the fox’s whereabouts, but it’s then that he sees it. When he turns to look at Minseok’s face, Jongin’s attention is overtaken by the dark, wriggling mass forming like a cloud over the palace walls. He stares, almost forgetting Minseok’s presence. The mesmerizing cloud billows and billows, expanding until it rises and disperses. It’s then that Jongin sees it’s not a cloud at all, but an enormous mass of crows.

“Baekhyun told me what happened” Minseok continues to whisper. “We escaped, but Geumin will never stop until he finds you.”

Jongin’s eyes alight on Minseok’s shoulder. There, the usual tunic Minseok wears is torn, showing a deep gash and bright red blood.

“You’re hurt!” Jongin cries, but the sound is lost to the wind. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. After all this, I wasn’t able to help you get your wings back.”

Minseok shakes his head, hearing Jongin’s words despite the acceleration and speed of Kyungsoo’s flying. “I really don’t care anymore. I met you.” Minseok leans in, touching his forehead to Jongin’s. “I’m just sorry I brought you into this, got you in danger.”

“No, I-” And Jongin wants to tell Minseok all about how much he missed Minseok, how much he’s learned, and how much he wants to stay and help. But Kyungsoo hoots once more.

“We’re nearly there” Yixing shouts above the cawing of crows.

Minseok nods firmly. Turning to Jongin, he starts to whisper faster, more fervently. “I want to say this before you are lost again. You’re the reason I’ve come to like the name Minseok. Ever since you first called me by that name.” His eyes glitter in a whorl of colors, making Jongin feel like he’s falling into an amazing abyss. “And even though we’ve spent so little time together this time, just know that I will be the one to keep our memories safe.” 

Jongin’s eyes widen in surprise.

“But what do you mean? I also-”

Minseok shakes his head again.

“There isn’t time” Minseok says again, confusing Jongin even more. “Geumin’s crows will never stop chasing you until you’re out of the Fae world. The crows are the result of his dark magic, just like his insect guards.”

“Minseok, what do you mean I’ll be lost again? I- I’m-”

“We’re here!” Yixing shouts, turning with an apologetic look on his face.

And like Minseok had said, there really is no time. There are so many things Jongin wants to tell Minseok. And there’s so many emotions, so many things Jongin wants to say before he leaves. Like how all this time, he’s felt that their connection goes deeper. Like how all this time, he’s felt like he’s met a long lost friend. Like how all this time, he’s thought about never wanting to say goodbye. 

The tears come unbidden as always. Jongin presses his lips to Minseok’s in haste. It’s a chaste kiss, but Jongin closes his eyes, wanting to burn the memory into his heart. He feels Minseok’s hand in his shirt pocket.

And before Kyungsoo drops him off at the gate to the human world, Jongin hears Minseok’s last whisper.

“This is your payment. Make sure to water it well.”

Jongin falls through a never ending well... or, at least, that’s what it feels like as he falls and falls into darkness.

“I’ll come back for you!” is what Jongin wants to scream, but he can’t quite remember why or who he wants to shout this to.

When Jongin finally wakes up, the smell of rubbing alcohol is what hits him first. The familiar, sterile scent of the hospital makes him cringe. But then, it’s his head that makes him groan aloud.

“Jongin? Jongin? Oh Jongin, are you awake?”

His mother’s voice has Jongin opening his eyes wide. After that, it’s a blur with the doctor and nurses hovering over him, checking his vitals and making sure he hasn’t lost brain function.

Apparently, it’s been a few weeks since Jongin was found at the edge of the river, unconscious with a tattered backpack full of smelly black soil and a pocket full of seeds. And apparently, many things have happened with Jongin's family. When Jongin had been hospitalized, his mother had quit her job to tend to her comatose son. His sister had blamed herself, but had soon been picked for a merit scholarship, relieving some of the household’s financial burden. Then, upon hearing about Jongin, Jongin’s father had come back, but with good news - success at his new business venture. They were going to be okay financially all thanks to a mysteriously cheery, bespectacled man oddly resembling a raccoon, who had given his father counsel. And now that Jongin was awake and healing, there was nothing else to do but to be happy. 

Or so it seemed.

As Jongin is released from the hospital, going home, he is more than happy at the turn of events. Sure, there had been some rough patches in their lives, but now their luck was changing. Still, as Jongin looks out the window of the taxi driving them back home, he stares at the passing row of violet wisteria trees and feels like there’s something he’s forgotten.

❀❀❀

PRESENT DAY--

Jongin’s family usually refers to that time as The Dark Days - days lived in poverty with constant worry and stress. But secretly, Jongin’s always thought there was something romantic about those simpler times. He can’t quite place it, but he feels generally fond when he recalls his time as a sixteen year old. 

Jongin had planted the seeds that they'd found him with in the soil that had filled his backpack and they had blossomed into beautiful blue poppies with almost transparent, ethereal petals. They were a hardy flower, despite their appearance, and his mother still tended to them to this day. That plant was really the only remnant of his incident with the river on that winter day.

And yet, it had taken some time for Jongin to get back into the swing of things after waking from his short coma. There was a time afterwards that Jongin had looked at flowers for too long, as if waiting for something to happen. And for some reason, crows made him feel nervous when they got too close.

“A normal after effect of an unexplained coma” his doctor had said, “periods of absent-mindedness and odd new phobias.” But Jongin wasn’t too sure. Because even now, almost six years later, things weren't quite the same.

Just yesterday, Jongin had watched a documentary about foxes. And all of today an annoying voice, similar to Oh Sehun’s, echoes in his mind.

_’Deal or no deal?’_

He watches a movie with his friends that ends in a gentle, chaste kiss. And while everyone else is complaining of it being anti-climactic, Jongin wonders why there are tears in his eyes and a feeling on the corner of his lips like he’s reliving a moment that never happened.

During the summer, a weird influx of butterflies settles in his neighborhood, covering the branches of the tree at the end of his street. Entranced, Jongin watches them for a long time. Eventually, he reaches out, touching one of the many winged creatures one day. The wings of the one he touches are iridescent blue and purple. Unlike the other butterfly wings that are yellow or orange trimmed with black, this one stands out. The butterfly shivers under Jongin's touch and flies away, revealing a tiny purple bud, barely starting to blossom.

Jongin’s finger moves again and he touches a single, soft violet petal. He closes his eyes, feeling a rush of something overcome him, almost as if he’s being sucked into a vortex. When he opens his eyes once again-  
  
  


“Hi” says a small man with a toothy grin. The man’s hair is a shocking shade of violet, but the edges of his fingertips and knees are tinged in a blushing pink. "I knew you’d be back” he says and somehow, that’s all Jongin needs to hear.


End file.
